Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1887-08-19
TIM C0UGHLIN In LIMBO.
THE CHATSWORTH JURY LOCATES A
TERRIBLE RESPONSIBILITY

On the Section Foreman Who Failed to
Do His Whole Duty-And Suggests That
the Railway Company Was Not Up to
the Mark-CoughIin Arrested-The Scene
in His Home-Tornado Havoc.
CHATswoRTH, Ill, Aug 19.-The coroner's
jury in the Chatsworth horror rendered a
verdict Thursday charging Section Boss
Coughlin with gross carelesSness, and recon-
mending that he be held to the grand jury,
and censured the railroad company. The
verdict is as follows
We find that the wrecking of the said train,
which totally demolished eight coaches, one bag.
gage-car and one engine, and either killed or
wounded most of the occupants of said coaches,
caused by said bridge having been burned
out before the train struck it, We think from
the evidence that the bridge was fired from the
fires left burning which had been set as late as
O'Clock that afternoon by the section men.
close sixteen feet on both the east
and west sides of the bridge We further
find that the foreman If section Z,
Timothy Cougbm, disobeyed positive orders
from his superior to examine the track and
bridges on his section the last thing on Wedues-
day and we find that he did not so over the west
two and one-hait miles at all on Wednesday, and
that the said foreman, Coughlin, was guilty OF
gross and criminal carelessneSS in leaving fires
burning along the track in such dry season and
with such strong wind blowing.
We recommend THAT he be held for examination
by the grand jury and further it is the opinion of
the jury that the leaving of the track without be-
ing patrolled for six hours before the passage of
the excursion and the setting of fires by the sec
ti0n men on such dry and windy day as the 10th
of August, tss7 were acts which deserve severe
criticism.
As soon as the verdict had been found a
warrant for Coughin's arrest, prepared by
Coroner Long, was placed in the hands of
Deputy Sheriff Sanford, who is also thetown
marshal The officer found Coughlin work
ing with his gang short distance down the
track. He was Immediately placed under ar
rest, but was allowed to 20 to his home,
about quarter of mile from the station,
with the officer. where he put on his best suit
of clothes and bid good-by to his wife and
seven children, who cried and hung around
his neck in the most affecting manner. The
prisoner was then taken to the station where
he awaited the coming of the train which
was to take him away to the county jail at
Pontiac
While there he was interviewed He said
he considered the verdict most unjust one,
and declared that Head and Taggart the
section men who worked with him on Aug
10 had periured themselves in swearing that
they had set fire TO grass within sixteen feet
of the bridge on that day No grass had
been burned within the distance of three OF
four telegraph poles east of the bridge on
Aug 10 He could not account for their hav-
ing testified as they did He had not had any
trouble with them In his opinion he had
taken all possible precautions 10 prevent the
bridge catching fire. He said he had been
with the Toledo, Peoria & Western railroad
for two years, and previous to that time had
been employed by the Illinois Central rail
road for twenty EIGHT Years, with the excep
| ton of three years, during which time he was
i'll the war having served in the Thirty third
Missouri infantry.
When the tram was passing his house the
most distressing shrieks and cries were heard.
the purpose of ascertaining the cause of the
noise. and saw Coughlins wife and children
standing i'll the doorway, giving way to the
most violent expressions of grief as they
gazed after the train that was bearing the
husband and father to prison
After the verdict had been announced At
torney J. s. Stephens, who has been here for
road, said that the company would not assist
Coughln i'll any way to extricate himself
| from his difficulty.